The present disclosure relates to an image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program that is capable of adding a blur in accordance with user's preference to a captured image, for example.
In recent years, for compact-digital still cameras, imaging devices having a small area are often used by demands of miniaturization of the cameras. For example, 1/2.33-type CCDs (6.2×4.6) are used. On the other hand, 35-mm full-sized (36×24) imaging devices, APS-C-size (23.4×16.7) imaging devices, etc., are widespread as large imaging devices.
In such a compact-digital still camera having a small-sized screen, depth of field becomes deep, and a blur effect that can be obtained by related-art film-based cameras and digital single-lens reflex cameras using a large imaging device becomes very little. The blur effect is requested in portrait photography, in which a person is isolated by blurring a background. Under these circumstances, as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-66199 in the past, proposals have been made of a method of obtaining a large blur effect even in a digital still camera using a small imaging device.
In a method described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-66199, in a portrait photograph image, a face and a human body are detected, and the place other than the face and the human body is regarded as a background, and is subjected to blurring processing.